There has been considerable research over the past twenty years on new catalysts for proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells. The motivation has been to increase catalytic activity, particularly for the cathode in a hydrogen/air fuel cell. Most fuel cell electrodes are fabricated by a decal method or by catalyst-ink on a carbon paper gas diffusion layer (GDL). The platinum (Pt) catalyst utilization efficiency in such structures is not as high as desired. There has been little research conducted to improve electrode structures and methods of fabricating fuel cell membrane-electrode-assemblies with improved catalyst utilization.
Therefore, a heretofore unaddressed need exists in the art to address the aforementioned deficiencies and inadequacies.